I would gladly re-attend any Grateful Dead show as every single one is as unique as a fingerprint, this was my second to last show after a long run (1978 thru 1995), and there certainly some interesting moments of music here worth revisiting especially on this crispy soundboard recording.
The Earth is currently facing a deadly viral pandemic, please listen to "Black Peter", (it's my last attended) and think of the love we have all shared together as Dead-Heads, "We Will Survive.

I dosed a puddle of liquid at this show and got totally stuck! The colors were so intense I seriously did not know up from down. I barley remember the show and thought I would never come down even three days later which sucks. I'm so glad I'm sober now and I get to remember Dead & Company when I see them =) Going on tour from 93 to 95 was very special! I will never forget all the great experiences I had!

I sang a little while and then flew on.

This was my first show, and I'll be the first to admit that I got on the bus too late. But since this show I've become a taper on a small scale and I live for GD family shows and all the incarnations since we lost Jerry. But this show changed everything. I mean, I was headbanging to Judas Priest while driving to the show! But on the way home, we were silent. Something had happened and at the time, I didnt have any idea what a pivotal night this was in my life. Later, I wrote my senior thesis on the community aspect of Grateful Dead concerts with a specific focus on May 28-29 1995, at Portland Meadows.

I just watched the NetFlix presentation of 'The Other One' and wanted to stream some good ole Grateful Dead. The good thing about GD is almost any calendar date they played a show. Some are better than others, but the good thing is, they're all here for us to enjoy for free. 20 years ago tonight finds us in Portland OR. How many times have the Dead knocked it out of the park in Oregon?
This show begins with a fairly safe Jack Straw opening up like hundreds of GD shows before it. Moving into a nice Peggy-O, smooth comes to mind. Something familiar maybe to help chew up the miles as the white lines fly by. Wang Dang has a funky board vibe to it, but again nothing extraordinary. Think 'safe'. Nothing mind crushing, no one having a total meltdown and going crazy. It makes me think of some of the WDD's from even just a few short years before. What a difference!. Row Jimmy was pretty solid. 'Broken heart don't feel so bad' older, and a little wiser. Poignant. Bobby paints his masterpiece and reminds us that 'Yes, it sure has been a long hard climb'. BEW feels fairly standard, even if the old man is just getting on. Let It Grow is probably one of my favorite Bob songs, and you can feel Mickey and Bill trying to pick it up a bit, seeing where else they can take this song after 20+ years. Just a few moments shining through towards the end before the break, but overall it leaves me wanting more.
Samson starts us off in the second set nicely. I fumbled around looking for my seatbelt for a moment, but alas, didn't need it. 'Way To Go Home' was way way too long. Not my cup of tea, but hey, different strokes for different folks. Crazy Fingers so far is the highlight of this show for me. Crisp, bright, and thoughtful playing. {Forgotten lyrics and all} Corrina shakes it up a bit. I always liked that catchy hook. Funky and kind of spacey. Jerry's soulful moan is not unlike a San Francisco foghorn. I love it, but definetly an acquired taste. Drums > Space > and a little more Space are also worth the price of admission. Yikes ! Say what you will about the '94-95 lack of Jerry, but some of my favorite Drums > Space are from these years. Watchtower sounds nice coming out of Space, but nothing spectaular. Again, nice and safe. I kept hoping with all the average reviews maybe they were missing some classic Bobby here. No dice, just average. Black Peter was cool, but then Around was fairly lackluster. Phil is called on to help close the show and doesn't let us down. Quality sound, but otherwise just an average show. Boy what I would give to be in the front row though.
I didn't download this, and probably wouldn't stream it again, but hey, it is after all The Grateful Dead only a month before their final show. Kind of like Chinese food, you know you ate, but feel hungry an hour later.

Happy 50th Grateful Dead !!

I used to listen to this PNW run and not be able to make it through due to my judgements. I don't know what changed, but I just listened to it with headphones and I enjoyed it immensely. There's still alot going on as only the grateful dead could nuance....if you listen intently. Black Peter is fantastic.

I could only read the first handful of reviews. These Portland shows were so much fun. The open-ness of the venue allowed the music to swirl around like a million flowering collaidascopes of happiness. Black peter was awesome. The shakedown the next day was one of my favorite experiences ever. Jerry did drugs for ever. It wasn't a problem until he died. So now you can look back and shake your finger. It was in part his drug use that made it what it was. It was my drug use that made it what it was. He did it for us too. Not just the employees. He did it until he died! Are you kidding me! He basically died on stage, playing for US. If you don't like the 90's shows, maybe you shouldn't listen to the,. I loved this west coast tour. And the one before that. And the one before that. What I wouldn't give for one of these horrible Jerry performances now (~);}

This recording is great . I've had an audience tape of this and the 29th since that year . And the SBD is Great . Peggy - o is a DOLL . Beautiful .

I truthfully didn't think they'd create such Great Mixing desk recordings that year , or summer . Thanks for uploading this again . -

I just got done listening to the 1st set. Look it was a Grateful Dead show so I liked it. I started going to shows in 1978 and still go to this day whenever any of them hit the East Coast. Theres something somewhere in every show that puts a smile on my face. Try not to judge it too much and just enjoy.

The bad reviews are understandable, wrongheaded as they may be. As I was never at a Dead show, I have no imagery to put here, except to picture Garcia backlit with shadows, and a bony hand on his shoulder. Yes, I much prefer, in this era of his life, to listen to his Grisman albums.

A high school friend who had the means to see some shows back in the late 80s-early 90s once said how awesome it was to hear them sing Touch Of Grey, as if to say, "Don't worry guys, we've still got a few years in us..."

And then I hear Garcia sing to us, "Sweet William he is dead, pretty Peggy-o...", as if sharing a gallows joke with himself. No, this is not a happy show.

But it's a beautiful show.

@gregulator.....thanKu bro!..FINALLY...someoNe wIth an eaR foR whaT waS the onLy thIng thIs side of heaVen(if u believe in such)..thaT gaVe peopLe what waS missing,only waiting to be found..feLt at a shoW...im trueLy disgusted at the remarks made by thoSe who I know at one point feLt that saMe maGic...and honeStLy....the 70s had PLENTY of off nights....and that is not only my opinion..but that of the band as well..Jerry left many shows driving home,kidz in the back ,cussing himself for the not so graTe performance...yet,Bobby was usually the reasoN theN,so off key in his vocals,like a teenagerz voice during puberty!..loL....77,had a a few months of perfection...and for tje rest...well,it was all good..becuZ..they gaVe you what you needed...we left theM ,NEVER actually wanting it to end...cuz it was ALWAYZ an eXperIence to haVe riddeN the mYstery tRain inTo zoo,onLy fiT foR you...anD feeLing a LackiNg in soMe diRecTioN...onLy thIng thAt..NO MATTER THE DECADE or yeaR..the MUSIC ...neVer faiLed to allow you to sMiLe,and daNce outta youR confuSion....foR it neVer stopped.....we ALL felt thoSe chillz at any and every venue...Jerry,i admit...flubbed a line here or there...but,it was more tjen just a band up there for some us..alot of us!..i could never leVe early....cause....there just aint no pLace id rather had been..then...to be with YOU!....and jerry felt the saMe and if you couLdnt feeel or hear that in his BEAUTIFUL...aged like fine.wine voice...emotions pouring from a heart that left us in tearz many a nite..then either you werent there,in which,your desIre to be there...unintentionally led to a obvious case of jealousness....i can prolly relate to.for unlike those blessed with age,allowing tours in the 70s & 80s...i understand...yet...tho its not my fave..its not even the best..thats clearly 87-91...no question,hands down...sober jerry...the boys elated to have that...to see jerrys smile again.his passion...was ever so apparent in the cleaN crisp noTes woLf and rosebud used to carry us inTo the ship only a fool would board,and that onLy "THE CAPTAIN" couLd keep jammin on through phantom seas....it truely was always an unforgettable, one of akiNd LearNing experieNce....that left you speechlesS,no woRdz haVe eveR,nor will they defIne whaT onLy we as famiLy...haD neVer actually beeN,"HOME"..unTiL ouR first shoW...anD that embraCe that jerrys guitar wrapped us in...is our sanity,or basis on life as only kindness and.smile caN giVe to a famiLy.which is LOVE....so,that leads me back to those who ignorantly speak with negative remarks..and occaisional HATE...begs me to remInd you of the LOVE we ALL shaRe,overshadowing the age and years we didnt get to shaRe a wonderful St.Stephen together..or a tuNe that found us all,lookin for the road,leading home...the one that may have saved moRe then LoVe,but a LiFe...So Many Roads to ride....as gregulator stated,if u still have troubLe feeling the magic of late 80s-90s GD....as much as im in umfavor of doin so..dont listen...that may cure the reasons for the hateful ..and repeTedly untrue unkind stabs at only a false hate...just what it was you were missing...to be there liVe.............now,for those who were there in 70s...throughout upto 7/9/95....and still spread the hate and disrespectful wordz about Jerry...those roAds saving LoVe..is the same LoVe that you,some kind stranger...i still regard as a friend..a brother...thousandz of otherz and myself at prolly atleast a few times chaNted witH the hope and need,they will always know...as they did for us..OUR LOVE TOO .WILL NOT FADE AWAY.....maybe if u have said remarks aboiy a lifestyle,jerry didnt WANT....but carried,along with the weight of the world on shouLdeRz that lifted a 42lb.guitar each nite ....and he did it......cuZ we LoVed each oTheR.........plz stop speakin ill of what some,more them I realize most likeLy,feLt and caRed and was theRe foR aLL the right reaSons,some if not shared between ages......but.......it was the improvanistic and blow your mind moments that we to thIs day can hear in audiance masterz....that high..that drug called.."musical magIc"....onLy accomplished by thoSe who I believe we can agree....but,the cover of their book...judged by soo many igmorant..now I feel to be unforTunate for doin so....for that Ction and simply hate....kept them from dancing with angeLs and,for ever after...being who you were to be....a Deadhead...and its thankx that needs to be spoken..and the unkind shit spilling from mouths...only to get a reaction from the onez the envy.......the ones who said ..aiNt no ti,e hate!........plz..Jerry changed the liVes of more then we can fathom...thats the only envy any of us have the right to live with.....i can only wish,i can do what he.did...for us....for a fraction he without intending to....shyed from its beauty....and was and should always be spoken with the respect most of us should strive to achieve,if only in one perspns life.......allow cloud hands,reaching from a rainbow...to tap upon thier window...touch his hair....giVe the assurance....kindness and Love.....and jerry of course.......EASED OUR SOUL.....and spread it as much as u can....for its being taken by the greed of the suits in washington.......we shall all dance together as one..and let the songz fill the air......for magic,always amazes..smile my brothers and sisterz......and neVer stop DANCING!!.....(~);}...imissJg

I can only imagine for those who'd been touring for a while that this was a bit of a sad moment in GD history. However, I listened and thought Peggy O seemed pretty nice to me and there were some moments in other spots.

Always seems to be a comment like creampuffwarrior3's. ("Don't whine. If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all.... etc... etc...")

It's gets old and absurd.

But, of course, we're all very happy to have as many honest and differing opinions posted here as possible.

I did this entire summer tour with various friends. After Seattle, I was hearing everyone talking about Jerry being back on the smack. It was sad. Who knows, but it really seemed to show in Portland.

I remember something about Bobby mumbling “fuck the Christian Reich”.

Does anyone remember the dust bowl lot? Talk about sand in my kind veggie stir fry. We sold so much beer on the street corner we had to reload 3 times. That helped. Sometimes it was rough and sometimes it was easy. Portland 95 was a little of each.

I miss my tour buddy Crazy Dave. Dave, what has become of you?

1994 and 1995 Dead reminds me of those swimming pool "trout ponds" they would set up in suburban parking lots for kids to experience the thrill of catching a fish, back in the late 70's. 1993 was the last year I saw the Dead, JGB, and Phish because of the angst and tension that was building in the audiences. The fist fight between a girl and guy on the eastside of the parking lot post 5/21 show at Shoreline sealed the deal for me. I gave away the rest of my 5 west coast tour tickets a half hour before the 5/22 show began and fled back to the mountains of Washington state and as far away from the "Tour Trash" that was taking the scene out by it's knees, at this point in time. Glad I didn't come back for a last peek. Yikes. You gotta know when to hold em' and know when to fold em', like the song says.

I am just listening to this for the first time in a long while and think it ranks better than many of the reviews here. I had an excellent time in Portland during May of 1995. No doubt this show doesn't hold up to classic GD, but it was the Boys and it was fun as hell that day. This SBD sounds excellent.

I can see both sides of the debate here . . . Jerry was at weird stage of his life and it showed at times, but he had me smiling through most of the two days (there were a couple moments on the 29th that were tough to hear). This show had numerous high points though I can appreciate some of the criticisms I've heard about the performance. Sweet "Box of Rain" to close. DL it if you dig hearing the GD at all points in their career.

actually it is harder to play the songs slower than faster, most musicians know this. Jerry rules, to this day. Stay in the seventys if you don't get it. Only an idiot would have left a show early, especially a west coast show. You probably didn't have the good L connection to get it. That is all right I guess.

These were my last shows of well over 300 from 1978 on. It was really sad to see Bob and Phil looking over at Jer, and try to give him some encouragement. It looked to me like Jerry could barely find his mic to sing a verse. His playing, well it was just sad.

hey all you people complaining you came here to hear the dead if you dont like this listen to another year if you hate 1995 i personally enjoy whatever grateful dead i can get and dont whine like you so if you can say something good about a show dont listen to it or are you to stupid to figure that out on your own no one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to listen personally i enjoy this show

I did the whole west coast summer tour and it was at this show that it dawned on me that Jerry was dying.
He had no gusto. He was fading away before our eyes. Yes, he would pick it up again here and there in the 20 or so shows that followed but it was unmistakable that he was on the way out. This was the worst played show I saw of over 100.

no stars but lots of sympathy.

It might be in the forward of 'Box of Rain', the song book, where I think Hunter said they never put the lyrics in w/ the albums because each song had a unique meaning to each Head, and he didn't want to screw that up for them/us. I am so tired of reading negative reviews from you morons. Jerry gave his life to the music. The lifestyle took him from us too soon. My first show was in '92 (Yah, yah!). Those last few years were the best of my life. I had such amazing experiences with all of you, and 'the boys.' Even being new to the scene, I could sense (especially the last few Shoreline shows, for some reason. And especially 'the wheel',) that the long, strange trip was headed for home base. I could see the wheel slowing. Maybe coming to a stop altogether. I knew for sure that we were a part of something uniquely special.
This Portland show was very special to me. My partner and I did great sellin 'Jerryade' t-shirts. ('Thirst quenching sound with every 'drop.'' We had 'The Tacoma Coma.' We had our own hippie crack tank. And, I got a pass to go up front to take pictures. I usually leave out the part about being so baked that I didn't realize that it was only good during the first couple songs. I went up as drums started and got some great shots of Bobby tapping the mike stand for effect. I strolled past Vince as space went into Watchtower. Which was great, for me! Then, as Black Peter got started, I saw an empty space about 6' by 6' right in front of Jerry. I looked at the guy standing at the back edge of this empty space and shrugged my shoulders as if to say, "Is it ok if I stand here?", or "What the hell! Is this some type of vortex?" The 'purple jesus'' was really workin'. It seemed like he gave me the 'O.K.' and I jumped right in. (In retrospect, I should have parked my ass right there.) Jerry proceded to play the best 'Black Peter' I had ever heard. (ok, so I only heard a few.) My self, my camera, and everything else was in perfect harmony. Jerry was was lookin' straight through the lens, which translated into my eye, then my soul. just then the wind came... He didn't seem to take his eyes off me. maybe halfway through Pete I ran out of film. I couldn't believe it. Honestly, I new I would be seeing 'Jesus', so I only brought a couple rolls that day. (I feel like I wasted most of the first one one Chuck Berry, who was awesome by the way. [Not so much the music as it was the experience of seeing such an influential rock legend.]). Had I known the flood gates of a deadhead photographers wet dream would open that day... I'm sure the heads in front of me would have hoisted me on their shoulders, but when you roll on up, you know you gonna roll back down! What's this? This rolls done. gotta load another one before they bust out some - DARK STAR/ST STEPHEN/THE ELEVEN/LOVE LIGHT - shit! Ah... No more film. I looked around kinda askin' for film, but I don't know if anybody understood that shit. I don't know if I did. And, Yeah, Peggy-O, Wange Dand Doodle, Row Jimmy is one of my least favorite combos, the over all song selection was beautiful. This recording sound good through my pc speakers.?. OK. Got the headphones on now. Sounds great. It was a beautiful weekend. Jerry fuckin' blew it out til the end! I get pretty sad sometimes, but remembering this shit makes me happy. Remembering happy times. 'It's all a dream we dreamed one afternoo-oo-hoon long ago.' ----- Oh my God! I just listened to the end. Very loaded buy now. The significance of 'Box of Rain' is ...It blows me away. There were some GREAT Dead tunes that day, my friends.

listen to jer's solo on "brown eyed" and stick it---
am so sick of guitar strummer audiophile nerds judging shows
get real---i saw them in 95 and it was THICK

i agree with lobster and i normally dont. These are the worst of 95.

Did you ever go to the beach, step into the ocean and have the bottom feel squishy between your toes not knowing what exactly it is? That's this show. Squishy shit. If you want that second set you can have it.

As for the band hanging on while jer was in this state, my feeling is(and this is totally a guess) that they really had all of those employees back in san rafeal running the operations who grew to rely on these tours. they were taken care of pretty nicely and some say had college education paid for their kids. Back in 92 when the big boy went down from exhaution, a lot of these folks took it hard. Again i wasn't there but my thoughts based on what i heard.

hey cuccamonga1,
I love the positivity from which you approach your stance on this show, but I don't think Jerry did a very fine job on his 5 songs this particular night. I think he did an abysmmal job on them.....
just my $.02

Why did the Dead continue playing with Jerry like this? Well, it's probably pretty hard to hang it up after 30 years unless you are forced too, especially when you still sell out 80,000 seat arenas, and have a couple hundred mouths to feed. Unfortunately 8-9-95 forced them to stop.

The story of Chuck Berry playing a great lick followed by a clam reminds me of what Jerry sounded like during this tour and Summer 95.

Sorry Dragon but when someone you feel close to is either drinking or drugging themselves to death, it's difficult to watch. It doesn't mean you don't love or care for them anymore, you just hope they get better. For people who think that critics of the band at that time should have just quit going is like asking family to not visit their dying parents or loved ones.

These people supported the band for many, many years so you need to lighten up on the old timers who had a difficult time watching Jerry die before their eyes.

This is a pretty decent recording. I love a great aud source when available, but when the wind is blowing in such huge open spaces, it's pretty tough to capture that Djini in the "bottle." Anyway, these final West coast tour ended up being the last shows I saw. Fortunately, I caught em all. Being a student at the U of O, but from Chicago, my "bad" habits had gotten so out of hand, I didn't get my shit tgthr in time to make it back East, and missed those last days. I will forever regret that. Anyone that has the balls to get so crytical of the band in those last days, should have just took off, and found something else to do w/ themselves. If it was really that bad, then why did you continue to subject yourself to it? I stop doing things when I feel pain from doing so. The Dead were never performers of perfection, and I don't think they were aiming for a perfect perfection. They were musical Shammans trying to bring about a spiritual experience though musical expression. It did not always happen, every night. By the end, I was able to accept that it might only happen ever 3rd or 4th night, it was always worth it. That's my $.02

Well - at least that Row Jimmy is something. It's out there. I remember telling my friend Jason Carr "Hey, Jerry's got the flute out." Carr replied, "I can't SEE the flute."

Blah, blah, blah on the first 2 reviews. So many people like to voice thier dead expertise. Sure it's the mid '90's...they're a little sluggish...they're showing their age... and the timing can be a little off. That's obvious, but sometimes you have to just go with it. And sometimes it makes the high spots even better. This show has some sweet spots in it. I thought that Jer did a fine job on the 5 songs he sang. The tempo on some things is a little off here and there, but for the most part nice and sweet. Thank you teleprompters.

I didn't mind paying for this show at all. The Peggy-O was worth the ticket. Not to mention the beautiful day that it was. My $.02

Don't even try listening to this unless you're looking to get depressed. Last and by far the worst show I ever saw. My question, then and now: how could the band let this happen? Garcia is so clearly on his last legs. He attempts only five tunes in the whole show!!?! and they are all miserable failures. Reprehensible that they would even consider taking peoples' money with Garcia in such life-threateningly bad health. My $.02.

Chuck Berry was at least somewhat entertaining. He'd be cooking through some tune, and he'd play some cool lead lick, and you'd say to yourself "that's awesome!"...then, often within seconds, he'd play some lick so badly you'd go "d'oh, that's terrible!" This went on and on, several times in every song...What a goofball.

BTW, the JGB show from this same venue on 8-8-93 was outstanding, despite JG losing his voice. Get it if you can.

Wow, not much there. Quite a drop in quality from the Seattle shows just two days earlier. The Let It Grow just plods along, a very unusual and undesirable tempo with the drummers very conspicuous and distracting. Jerry was seemingly incapable of putting together a coherent solo, or at least I haven't heard one yet. Seems to be a fairly dismal and unsatisfying show from the very uneven final weeks of the band. I'd say the Seattle shows from the 25th and 26th were the last two great shows. This one can be let go unless you were there.